Three-bean dishes provide
lot of fiber, a lot of nutrition

There are some recipes that I just can’t resist trying. They’re usually ones that fall into three categories — those containing wild game, cabbage or beans. (All these, coincidentally, are fairly nutritious.)

Wild game recipes appear on my radar because of all the hunting I do. I’m always looking for new ways to fix venison and pheasants. And with my grandson, Rakeem, poised to join me hunting roosters this fall, we’re sure to be flush in fowl.

And cabbage has been a favorite ever since the first bowl of my dad’s homemade vegetable beef soup, which was loaded with the tasty crucifer. That’s not to mention his boiled dinner, either. And then, there’s sauerkraut, which most of my garden cabbage goes into making.

But beans are another story. I don’t know what it is that makes them so appealing. (Canned beans are an indispensable pantry staple in our house.) Regardless, I don’t think a week goes by when we don’t have at least one or two meals that feature beans, often called the “poor man’s meat.”

While I’m referring to beans that are either canned or dry, garden beans — yellow wax and green (pole or bush) — also figure prominently in my legume cooking exploits.

The recipes I like the most usually have at least three kinds of beans in them. I have written several times about my spicy beans, which have a tomato base and contain a combination of three of the following: kidneys, garbanzos, navy, pinto or black. (See recipe at www.grandforksherald.com/event/tag/group/ Features/tag/ food/).

I also on dozens of occasions have made meat and meatless chili that contains three to five kinds of beans as well as similar versions of baked beans.

And Therese concocts a killer three-bean salad, long a staple at picnics and salad bars, which contains garbanzos, kidneys and a combo of green and yellow beans.

My most recent three-bean adventure involves a recipe that I found in an old Reader’s Digest that was attributed to Taste of Home magazine. It’s called Spicy Beans with Turkey Sausage. It’s billed as a heart-healthy choice that’s high in fiber, low in fat and costs only $1.69 per serving. It contains kidney, great northern and black beans (canned variety) as well as several other things that I love, including salsa, onions and green peppers. (Rinsing canned beans removes about one-third of the salt content.)

The recipe, which was a big hit, tasted even better the second day.

Nutritionally, beans are recognized by many health-related groups, including the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society and the American Diabetes Association, as an extremely beneficial addition to most diets. It is recommended that you should eat four ½- cup servings of beans per week.

Beans also are one of the best sources of cholesterol-reducing soluble fiber around and are an excellent source of protein as well. A pound can of beans contains more protein than a pint of milk, yet ounce for ounce, fewer calories and fat than eggs, meat or cottage cheese. And beans also are a good source of potassium.

Now, if I could just find a recipe that combines wild game, cabbage and beans.

Tiedeman is food editor at the Herald. Reach him at 780-1136 or toll-free at (800) 477-6572, or e-mail at jtiedeman@gfherald.com.

Tags: jeff tiedeman, features, food, beans, cplumnists